On Saturday, May 26th, I saw another show hosted by Blacklist Collective with a STACKED lineup. Times Like These headlined the show, as it was a record release show for their new album, “Take It or Leave It”. The band was supported by five Long Island based bands; I Ignite, Scared20, Øffguard, The Everafter and Amboy! Each band that played took full advantage of the opportunity they were given to play at a decent sized venue. They all put on memorable performances and had the crowd going nuts!
The night started off with Amboy, but unfortunately I did not arrive in time to catch their set. I have seen Amboy in the past and have included them in reviews. The last time I got to see them in action they sounded amazing. The quality of the music they were playing sounded identical to the recorded studio versions, something that is so important to me when I am at a show. It’s always exciting to watch a band that has amazing energy and a powerful stage presence, but if they sound like shit it completely ruins the set for me. Luckily for all of us, Amboy kills it when they step on stage! There is no doubt in my mind that they tore it down as usual!
The Everafter hit the stage after Amboy. The Everafter is a four piece Pop Punk band, consisting of Cora Small (vocals), Rich Rivera (guitar), Ryan Lare (bass) and Danny Nugent (drums). The four met in college and immediately recognized their similar musical interests. The Everafter spent the next ten months writing and collaborating for their debut EP, “Whatever’s Bringing You Down” and have had plenty of success since its release. With a killer debut single and an stellar track record for putting on great performances, The Everafter is on the road to greatness!
The Everafter played a few unreleased songs throughout their set as well as songs from “Whatever’s Bringing You Down”. The first thing I took note of while watching the band was the beautiful voice that Cora Small has. Throughout the set, every member of the band was moving around, engaging with each other and the audience. It was amazing how well Cora Small was able to stay in key the entire time, even with all the movement on stage! The first song The Everafter played off the EP is For the Better. I love the soft guitar and vocal intro on this song. It allowed Cora to really show off her vocal talents and win over the crowd! “It’s kinda obvious, you’re not the kind of person I want around. After all the madness ends, I know that we won’t be friends, you’ll show me who you really are!”
The Everafter continued with Altercations. This is my favorite song off the their EP because it has such strong Pop Punk elements included in it. I immediately start head banging every time I hear those deep guitar riffs at the end of the intro! While the band was performing this song, it was easy to see that every member of this band was putting their all into the set. They were given an opportunity to open up in support of some pretty big Long Island bands and they took it and ran with it. The Everafter finished their set with their debut single, Call It a Night. Despite being a small band that is relatively unknown, so many people in the crowd were singing along to this one! That is a testament to the level of success this band has reached already. This was the first time I got to catch The Everafter live, but it certainly won’t be the last! Make sure to check them out at Gold Sounds in Brooklyn on June 24th. They will be playing a show called “Girls Who Rock”, featuring all female-fronted bands!
Øff Guard, a five piece Alternative Rock band, hit the stage next with a powerful performance. The band is comprised of Matt Weiss (lead vocals), Tyler Embry (bass/vocals), Matt Becker (rhythm guitar), Doug Tuchler (lead guitar) and Nick Kolokathis (drums). This is the first time I was seeing them live and they did not disappoint! Øff Guard released their EP, “Set the Scene” in 2017 and played a bunch of tracks from it. They started off with Hidden Messages. The song begins with fast paced drumming and guitar chords, something that made the band’s presence known. The second they started playing, the floor filled with people eager to watch Øff Guard shred on stage!
After Øff Guard had everyone’s attention focused on them, they were able to show off their tremendous talents. They continued with Angie (I Don’t Care Much Where), a slower song that allowed each band member to show off their talents on their perspective instruments. With this song, every band member was heard individually. There are so many areas on this song where this is evidenced, from Matt’s pristine vocals, Tyler, Matt and Doug’s separate guitar chords, and Nick’s dope drumming. I enjoyed watching them perform their opening song, but Angie is the song that turned me into a fan!
Øff Guard continued with a new, unreleased song and three tracks off of “Set the Scene”. Two songs that stood out to me were Tension and Strawberry Moon. I love Tension because it begins with just an acoustic instrumental and goes into the full band sound about a minute in. The acoustic intro reminded me so much of a mix between Dashboard Confessional and Incubus (yes, two VERY different types of bands, but if you are a fan of either band you will understand why). Øff Guard finished their set with Strawberry Moon. This song was released as a single this past month, and it was very clearly a fan favorite. Every person that was up at the stage was singing along with the band and rocking out! Make sure to check out Øff Guard when they play with My Sword and Shield at Amityville Music Hall on June 15th, and when they co-headline with Vista at Revolution Bar & Music Hall on July 19th!
Scared20, one of my all time favorite local bands came on next. This band somehow exceeds my expectations every time I see them perform. One thing I must note is the insane following that this band has. It is not easy for a local, up and coming band to get a decent sized crowd to come to a show to support them. Somehow, Scared20 manages to accomplish this every single time! It’s good to know that I am not the only one who has taken note of this insanely sick band!
If you have never been at an 89 North show, they have a strict rule of no “moshing”; a rule I think is ridiculous but what are you gonna do? A venue is well aware of the type of bands they book. Know your audience and let them have fun! Fortunately, that rule did not stop the Scared20 fans from having a blast. They danced and sang their hearts out (albeit, maybe a little calmer than usual) and made sure that the band knew they were there to represent no matter what!
Scared20 played five songs off their debut EP, “More Punk than Pop” and a dope Green Day cover. I belted out every song they played (of course I know every word) but two songs in particular stood out to me the most: St. Jimmy (Green Day Cover) and We Killed Punk Rock. The cover song was one of the highlights because it was built up with so much anticipation that it had everyone dying to hear what they would play. Scared20 teased the crowd with snippets of other covers (American Idiot, Sweet Child O’ Mine, Can’t Stop and Dear Maria) before playing St. Jimmy. With each tease, the crowd erupted and began singing, until the band quickly changed gears and played something different. When they finally landed on St. Jimmy, the crowd erupted and sang at the top of their lungs! We Killed Punk Rock was another highlight for me because it was the first time the band was performing the song live. If you read the review I wrote of the band’s recent EP, you would know that We Killed Punk Rock is my favorite song. It was a true pleasure to be able to see them perform this!
I Ignite, a four piece Alternative Rock band with hardcore elements came on before Times Like These. I have been listening to the band for a few months now and even wrote a review of their latest EP, so I had been eagerly waiting to see them perform. All I can say is wow! What a sick set they put on! They played a ton of songs from the EP, including Pick Myself Up, Bonds We Break, The Life I Live, and Preacher, and an A Day to Remember cover that included Louis Navas. I Ignite was definitely the most hardcore band of the night. You never know how a crowd is going to react to the hardcore band that is mixed in with a bunch of Pop Punk/Alternative bands. I was pumped to see that the entire crowd was fully immersed in the band’s set, just like I was!
I Ignite definitely made the right choice with having Pick Myself Up as the first song played off the new EP. The band was able to show all of their influences with this one. The sick guitar chords on this song had everyone dancing along immediately. Pick Myself Up is one of my favorite songs by I Ignite because it has so many different elements placed in it. The guitar chords have a Pop Punk vibe but the bass kick makes you want to start throwing your body all throughout the pit. The singing and screaming vocals were perfectly matched throughout the song. This was definitely the song that would draw in the more Alternative/Pop Punk fans and expose them to a more hardcore side!
Now that I Ignite had the entire venues attention, they were able to really start shredding. The band followed up with Bonds We Break, a song that consists of the darkest, heaviest instrumentals on the entire EP. The guitar riffs on this song are insane and have that kick to it that makes you feel the music flowing through your body. Bonds We Break has one of the nastiest breakdowns ever, and you can see the crowd on edge just wanting to break loose and go nuts! To compensate for not being able to mosh, the I Ignite fans got right up to the stage to rock along with the band and show just how much their music is loved!
One of the highlights of I Ignite’s set was when they performed The Life I Live and invited Matthew Van Rossem (vocalist of GutterLIFE) on stage to rock out with them. This is my favorite song by I Ignite so you know I was screaming every word to this one! I love the message on this song and it relates so much to the all the band’s in the local scene, as well as myself when I started this blog. “You have the right to be the person that you see living out your wildest dreams, don’t let them go, just ‘cause they said so!” One of the coolest things about watching the performance of this song was the chemistry that I Ignite and Matthew Van Rossem had on stage. You would think they perform together every single time! I love seeing local bands support and collaborate with one another and can’t wait for the next I Ignite/GutterLIFE collab!
I Ignite finished up their set with an A Day to Remember cover featuring Louis Navas of Blacklist Collective followed by Preacher. The past few Blacklist Collective hosted shows I’ve been to recently has featured Louis Navas performing a cover with a band or two. He has the perfect screaming vocals and always kills it when he gets on stage. On top of that, he always performs a cover that has the crowd amped! I will gladly watch Louis scream at the top of his lungs to these kick ass songs any day! I Ignite performed Preacher as their final song, and what a final song it was. The hardcore elements of the instrumentals and screaming vocals had every fan jumping around and singing away! I Ignite will be playing the Great South Bay Music Festival on Thursday, July 13th! I can’t wait for that insane lineup!
On to the band that everyone was eagerly waiting for, Times Like These. They are a four piece, Long Island based Pop Punk/Pop Rock band. This was the album release show for their most recent EP, “Take It or Leave It”, so of course they played every song on it! What was a pleasant surprise, was that they were able to throw in some older material too!
Times Like These began their set with Pipe Bomb, the first song on the EP. This was the perfect song to open up with. The “ringside bell” that starts the song pumps me up every time I hear it! It was clear that this song wasn’t only a favorite of mine, but of everyone in the crowd too. As soon as Mike Acampora (vocals) began singing, you could hear the crowd singing every word along with him. “And hey I’m sorry it’s late and I kept you waiting, with a drink in your hand all alone and celebrating. Cuz I fall in between, when you’re lost in the scene and you can’t find your way out, It’s why we’re falling down.”
After the first two songs, Times Like These played two songs from their 2016 EP, “Follow Your Dreams”; Greetings from Avalon Park and Touch Called Remedy. Greetings from Avalon Park is one of my top songs by the band so I was hyped to be able to watch them perform it! It reminds me so much of a Blink 182 song. The fast paced drum roll and light guitar chords that can be heard during the verse were the perfect instrumentals to transition into the chorus. The crowd immediately broke out and started dancing and singing away when the bass kicked during the chorus! It wasn’t until the ending of the song that the crowd really went in! Times Like These shows off their Pop Punk roots with the fast paced, heavy guitar chords and amazing drumming, and the fans were appreciative. I could see the temptation for a pit to break out, but for fear of being kicked out (like one guy was earlier) the crowd restrained themselves. I definitely have to catch Times Like These at a different venue to see the crowd really let loose!
Times Like These ended their set with Forget Me Nots and Marigolds, Chicago, and Wild Minds. ‘Marigolds was a great choice to slow the pace down a bit and let the crowd catch their breath. It is their slowest, softest song, but also their deepest. It reminds me so much of a Brand New style song and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since I first heard the new EP! Times Like These didn’t let the crowd rest for long and immediately came in with the hard hitting song, Chicago. “I blame Chicago for all the fast times, fading long nights and all the tricks held up your sleeve” was heard throughout the venue as everyone sang along! One of the most surreal moments of the song was when the crowd sang the gang vocals back to the band; “I’m stuck with this feeling that this has no meaning”! You could see from the band member’s reactions that it was a moment they will always remember. The night ended with Wild Minds, a hit off of “Follow Your Stupid Dreams”. This was definitely the crowd favorite. Whether it was the traditional Pop Punk instrumentals and vocals that drew the crowd in or the fact that they knew it was the final song of the night, I’m not sure. What I am sure of is how insane the crowd went. The crowd was definitely rowdier than it had been throughout the night and the band ate it up. Times Like These came with a crazy amount of energy for their set, but really amped it up with this final song! Times Like These is playing Great South Bay Music Festival on Sunday, June 15th!
As expected, this show was phenomenal. I have to give a huge shout out to Times Like These, I Ignite, Scared 20, The Everafter and Amboy for putting on amazing sets and making everyone’s Saturday night that much better! Make sure to follow all the band’s on their social media accounts to keep up to date with future releases, shows, and other announcements. Check out music from each band on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!